I am looking to upgrade

Jonathan Schiller · Dec 31, 2013

So I am looking to upgrade my system, it is a bit of a mix match system that I have been piecing together sense 2005, I play RPGs and my system struggles with the witcher 2, and I am wanting to be able to play The Witcher 3/The Elder Scrolls Online when they come out, so trying to keep the upgrade under $500.00. so any advice on what would bottleneck and what needs to be replaced would be greatly appreciated.

system specs:
Motherboard: MSI 760GM-P23 (FX) AM3+
CPU: AMD FX-6100 Zambezi OC to 4.10 GHz
RAM: (X2) G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Video Card: HIS H785F1G2M Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16
HDD: Seagate DB35 ST3300831SCE 300GB 7200 RPM
PSU: RAIDMAX RX-500AF 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

Eximo · Dec 31, 2013

Not a lot that will see huge gains. You could replace the processor with the FX-8320 which helps in MMORPGs.

Ram speed is low, but that is a minor thing.

You have a modern video card, could get a second one, though I don't think that motherboard does crossfire.

If that harddisk is old you should certainly consider replacing it.

Raidmax is not known for their power supplies. If that is also a holdover from an older system, consider replacing that as well.

lucasz · Dec 31, 2013

So you have 8gb ram total?

Onus · Dec 31, 2013

I believe your CPU is the bottleneck in that system, and it isn't helped by the ancient-tech motherboard, so I don't believe simply upgrading the CPU is a good use of funds.
Is your RAM a pair of 2GB sticks for 4GB total, or does it contain X2 4GB sticks for 8GB total? If the latter, you're good.
You can get a decent H87 mobo and a non-K i5, and the new Windows license you'll most likely need, for <$400; closer to $450 for a Z87 and an unlocked i5. The rest you can save, or possibly add RAM.
Edit: I agree about the Chokemax PSU, but since it is 80+ bronze and isn't being loaded, it is probably safe. A future upgrade later of a more powerful video card would be the time to look into replacing it.

lucasz · Dec 31, 2013

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2tsDh
I know it's a little bit over your budget, but you'll see a good performance gain. The hard drive I chose is an SSHD, which means it is a hybrid ssd/hdd drive. It gives boot times similar to an ssd and the huge amount of storage that an hdd offers

Onus · Dec 31, 2013

Unfortunately, in addition to being old-tech, his motherboard appears on https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=0 as being unsuitable for 125W CPUs. With the current OC, it may be at risk for death even now; cheap MSI boards have weak VRMs that may pop under load.

lucasz · Dec 31, 2013

Yikes. You'll definitely need to get a new motherboard if you want to upgrade your cpu now

Jonathan Schiller · Dec 31, 2013

Yes i have 2x 4GB sticks in, with 8GB total. so you think the i5 would be an improvement over 6100 OC? just asking cuz its a 4 core vs 6

Onus :

lucasz · Dec 31, 2013

Yes the i5 is much more powerful than the 6100

Onus · Dec 31, 2013

Absolutely. The i5 is the way to go. Even a locked one will be a lot faster than the FX-6100. Since you don't need to buy more RAM, you'll come in well under budget. If you don't need another Windows license, I'd suggest getting a 128GB-256GB SSD for overall snappy performance (but it won't help FPS in games).

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